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Floods also wash in a wide range of emotions

By Bianca Prieto

Digital First Media

Posted:
09/21/2013 08:57:22 AM MDT

Coloradoans continue the arduous task of digging out and trying to find normalcy in the days after the flood. However, the gamut of emotions felt by those affected could prove more difficult to handle than moldy carpets and washed out roads.

Feelings of irritability, anxiety, fear, sadness, depression and anger are normal for those who have lost their possessions in a disaster, experts say. Some may feel hopelessness or isolation.

Colorado has not experienced a natural disaster of this magnitude in recent memory, leaving many reeling from the experience, said American Red Cross spokesman Chip Frye.

"There are 18,000 homes either lost or significantly damaged," Frye said. "You can say the same for these people's lives, they were damaged."

It's difficult to predict the emotional impact the flood will have, but the Red Cross is ramping up its mental health services in preparation for a substantial need, he said.

Frye is working directly with flood victims in Boulder County and said he is seeing lots of people who are in shock and numb.

"These are normal emotions in an abnormal situation," Frye said. "It's good for people who have been affected to talk with family and friends, or others who have gone through the same thing."

Taking time to feel the emotions and not rush through the healing process is paramount to healing, Frye said, and others agree.

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"Understanding that traumatic stress — the basic reaction to an overwhelming event — is a human, and ordinary, reaction to an extraordinary event," said Gerard Jacobs, a disaster psychology professor at the University of South Dakota. "It's not a sign of being weak, it's a sign of being human."

Young children could have a different or slightly more intense reaction to a natural disaster than an adult because it is more difficult for them to understand their natural world coming apart, Jacobs said.

"Having the natural world destroyed is more disturbing for children," Jacobs said. "The kids could feel they somehow caused the event."

Adults can help children deal with the aftermath by explaining to them in simple terms how the flood happened and help them to understand how it happened so they can see they did not cause it.

Resources to help those who are in need of mental health counseling are available at the Boulder County Mental Health Center by calling at 303-447-1665. If it is an emergency, people can go to an emergency room for help. The Red Cross also provides mental health services and they can be reached at 888-635-6381.